LG reveals flexible screen you can roll up

The flexible screens can be rolled up without damaging the display [Credit: LG]

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A flexible screen unveiled by LG today is so flexible it can be completely rolled up and moved without affecting the picture when used again.

The South Korean manufacturer has revealed two new screens, the first a screen that is highly flexible thanks to the use of a backplane made of  "high molecular substance-based polyimide film" instead of plastic, while the second is transparent.
Curved screens have already started to appear on the market, with Samsung launching a curved LED TV earlier this year, and LG says it is confident it will be able to produce a 60-inch Ultra HD rollable screen by 2017.
“The idea of a roll-up TV may sound like a solution to a problem no one has, but if you consider that the trend is for ever-larger TVs, being able to roll yours up when you've finished watching will mean it has less of an impact on your room. The portable big-screen TV could be a fixture of the future home," said Will Findlater, editor-in-chief of gadget magazine Stuff.
"Flexible screens are also more durable than unyielding ones, which will appeal to anyone who has ever dropped a smartphone or tablet. There's also the possibility of being able to control a device based on how you flex it."
He added: "The fact that these screens could also be transparent opens up other applications. A car windscreen that displays dashboard elements and navigation data, for example."
Stuart Miles, chief executive and founder of tech website Pocket-lint, believes that the new technology could lead to a change in the way we consume media from the world around us, with screens in new places that weren't possible before.
"Advancements in flexible screen technology aren't just so we can have curved screens in our living room, but screens pretty much anywhere wrapped around things. That instead opens up a world of possibilities for how information is displayed and delivered in the home, work, and public spaces. No longer do we need to live in a world filled with lines."
LG claims the transparent screen unveiled today is a significant improvement on earlier models, which has achieve a 30 per cent increase in transmittance and a significant reduction in hazy images, which is responsible for the screen's transparent effect.